The Santa Barbara City Council took a step forward in addressing housing shortages during its meeting Tuesday, debating an adaptive reuse ordinance that aims to incentivize housing projects in existing commercial spaces.
While the ordinance could pave the way for converting vacant retail and office buildings into much-needed housing, disagreements over inclusionary housing requirements and other provisions led the council to send the ordinance back to staff for revisions.
The proposed amendment to municipal codes seeks to streamline adaptive reuse projects by waiving certain zoning requirements, such as setbacks, parking, and maximum density…